No Good Deed
by Thorncastor2
Summary: Yukina asks Botan a favor. A favor that involves confusing and incompatible words like “Hiei”, “school festival” and “double-date”. So just how far is Botan willing to keep a promise to a friend? H/B.
1. Please?

**A/N:** Just a silly little story that I found in my archives waiting to be loved…by you.

* * *

**No Good Deed**

Chapter One: Please?

* * *

Most horror stories include a mysterious phone call. This was no exception.

Actually, it was only mysterious because it happened at about five in the morning- an hour that could be considered unreasonable, especially since it was the weekend. And if it was unreasonable, it was probably Koenma. Besides, none of Botan's friends owned a cell with a network large enough to reach the afterlife and now that she thought about it, paying the monthly phone bill had become as much of a royal pain as her boss could be. Making a mental note to switch to something more earthbound, like T-Mobile, Botan tapped her bedside table in search of the offending ring.

"Is it another apocalypse?" she mumbled into the receiver.

"Hello, Botan? I'm sorry for calling so late."

_Wait a minute. Koenma never apologizes. _

"Yukina?"

"Yes, it's me." Botan heard her swallow nervously. "I'm…I'm very sorry for troubling you. I just wasn't sure…"

"No, it's ok," said Botan, stifling a yawn. "What's up? Is everything alright?" She tensed fearfully. "It's really_ not_ another apocalypse is it?"

"Oh no, of course not." she assured.

_Whew. Now that that was out of the way..._

"I think it's much worse."

Briefly, Botan wondered if she was joking- but this was Yukina. The docile little ice maiden whose gentle genes nullified any natural impulses to cruelty. Imagining her pulling a prank on some unsuspecting innocent was like imagining a bunny with a semi-automatic. Pushing aside the heinous visual of Yukina as Rambo Rabbit, Botan slipped into dependable-friend mode.

"Whatever it is, Yukina, I promise I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Oh good," said Yukina, sounding relieved. "Um…I…"

An awkward beat.

"I think Hiei might be in love with me."

* * *

Now, Botan was a practical girl who went about her life abiding by the rules.

It just so happened that one of them was a "stay as far away from Hiei as you possibly can" rule. It was a rule that was imperative to her every existence, and one that hadn't failed her so far. Leave it to the fate to find a loophole. She should have known it was going to be trouble the moment Yukina mentioned her evil twin.

They were sitting in a tearoom that had been sectioned off from the main compound of Genkai's dojo. It would give them more privacy, said the aging- but by all means still kick-ass- martial arts master. Botan didn't think it really mattered either way, since it was late in the year and there were no students around to interrupt.

"I've been seeing him a lot lately," she explained.

Not unaware of Hiei's somewhat creepy inclinations to spy, Botan wasn't all that surprised. But for Yukina's sake, she sure tried to act that way.

"How odd."

Yukina poured some more tea. "Honestly, it took me a while to start picking up on it. But one day, I noticed an odd shadow in the trees. I knew it was him and that he'd been following me. A lot. Even in Demon World, that's not considered very, um, polite." She paused to take a tentative sip. "Growing up, I've always felt that someone was watching over me."

An audible gulp from Botan that had nothing to do with tea.

_Easy now, _she told herself. _Don't spill the beans_.

A chilling vision of Hiei surfaced before her eyes.

_Keep your mouth shut if you value your life…_

Botan gave another audible gulp.

"It was nice," Yukina continued, "It was like whoever was watching was protecting me. It's a very uncertain world out there, especially for a demon…so I appreciated this."

Botan's tightened expression eased into sympathy. "Yukina…"

The ice maiden returned her gesture warmly. "Yes…but this…this feels different. It feels…I don't know: wrong. Hiei saved my life, so I feel a lot of gratitude towards him. But gratitude is all I feel and I'm worried that I might have led him on somehow."

Botan could just imagine how smoothly _that_ conversation would go:

_Hiei: I came to say that I don't love you in the way you love me!_

Then Hiei would face-fall, or attempt the manly demon equivalent thereof and start asking questions. Then true to his nature, he would go on a rampage and look for someone to blame.

_Which could very well be me, if I don't steer this conversation back into the right direction_, she thought hastily_._

"Well…Yukina," she tucked back a piece of her hair, trying to assemble her words in a way that wouldn't accidentally let on that Hiei was the long-lost brother that Yukina was searching for, "I think…that…well, Hiei can be a really scary person."

Yukina raised her eyebrows.

"_But_ underneath that vicious exterior is someone who's really sensitive."

Which she believed was at least half true. He may not be sweater vest wearing, tea-cozy, hey let's watch _The English Patient_ kind of sensitive, but she supposed he was sensitive in the way guard dog was when it mauled an intruder for the safety of its owner. That counted for something right?

"What I mean is," the ferry girl continued, "Even if Hiei doesn't show it, he's really very capable of caring deeply about someone else- and I think he feels that way towards anyone he thinks of as a friend. Look at Kurama and Yusuke. Even though he treats both in his trademark I'm-so-cool-and-standoffish way, there's still a level of respect that I think is really sincere. Anyway, I don't think what he feels for you is romantic in any way shape or form. If anything, I think he thinks of you like a little sister. Er, so to speak."

Yukina took a nail biting moment to consider this.

"That makes sense…I mean, from what I've heard he had a very difficult upbringing, so I suppose he would have trouble understanding how people are supposed to care of each other." Botan crossed her fingers as Yukina lapsed into another thoughtful silence. "I guess you're right."

Botan felt herself inwardly deflate with relief. If there was any justice in the world, she should at least win an Emmy for _that_. "Good, I'm glad you think so."

Yukina gave a coy smile. "You like him a lot don't you?"

She choked on her tea.

"Ehhhh?" she sputtered.

Yukina laughed, "I'm sorry. It's just the way you spoke of him so highly. You must really admire him."

_Admire him? Fear him's more like it. _

"Oh no, I don't like him at all. I mean, uh, not in the way…jeez, did I really…?"

Yukina adopted a worried frown. "Have I embarrassed you?"

_Not really. Now, mortified on the other hand…_

"Sorry," said Botan, waving a hand behind her head, "it's just that Hiei's a very…"

_Hmm. How to put this delicately?_

"…he's a very touchy subject for me."

"Hmm."

Not knowing what else to do, Botan poured herself some more tea. The conversation was growing weirder by the minute, and she didn't know what else to expect. Who knew that Yukina could be as unpredictable as her brother was? But then again, she was his sibling after all. Cut from the same demonic mold and all that. She sighed heavily.

"Kazuma is taking me to the school festival this weekend," Yukina announced cheerfully.

Botan had to think before processing his name.

"Oh, Kuwabara-kun. Yes. I'm glad the two of you are doing so well." She was being truthful this time. They might have looked odd together, but then she'd seen stranger things happen. Keiko and Yusuke, for example.

"Oh yes," an enthusiastic nod, "Kazuma's a very good person," Yukina agreed. Then, lowering her doey voice another decibel, "To tell you the truth, I was sort of planning on not going since I was afraid of what Hiei might think. He and Kazuma don't seem to get along as well as everyone else does. But now that I've spoken to you, I feel like I can go without having to worry about him."

"Glad I could help."

Another beat. This time, however, Botan noticed the contemplative expression in Yukina's eyes. As though she were trying to piece together a plan. Then again, it could have just been her imagination running wild. She hoped.

"I think that you should ask Hiei to go with you."

This time she didn't so much as choke on her tea as she did go into cardiac arrest. Hiei was not, if anything, a date person. _She_ was not, if anything, a date person. Their dreadful union could very well be a match made in Demon World.

_Why oh why couldn't it just have been my imagination running wild again? _She mourned balefully.

"I _really_ don't think that would be a very good idea."

"Why not?"

"Well, because he isn't…." _My type. My __**species**__, maybe?!_

"I think it would be good for the both of you," Yukina insisted. "I mean, you said all those nice things about him."

_Yea for __**your**__ benefit. _Botan wanted to cry.

"What I'm trying to say is," Yukina began again, more tactfully this time, "It's okay if you don't think of Hiei like…like a mate." Botan blushed. "But at the very least, you think of him as a friend and I think what Hiei needs is a friend who could teach him how to care about others in the way that you do."

"But Yukina! Hiei's not some little puppy that I can train to play nice others," Botan cut in hurriedly, before the she could persuade her with something else that sounded surprisingly logical. "He's a grown man-demon who couldn't really care less about what I have to say, much less-"

Then Yukina did the unthinkable: she pouted.

"Please? For me?"

* * *

It was one of the most highly improbable scenarios in the universe. And it happened.

"She didn't," breathed Keiko.

"She did, " said Kuwabara.

"I still don't believe you," said Yusuke.

"Hiei told me himself," said Kurama.

"Um. What are we talking about again?" said Shizuru.

The five friends chose to congregate in the back kitchen of Keiko's bakery as soon as the news of Botan's total lapse in judgment began to circulate via Genkai's text message.

"We're talking about what drugs Botan must be taking in order to ask Hiei out on a date to the school festival this weekend," said Yusuke.

"Personally, I don't think this is that big of a deal," said Keiko as she set down some leftover bread rolls on the table. "He's one of the us now right? I mean, out of concern for Botan, I don't think Hiei would be my first choice. On the other hand, who are we to judge her feelings?"

"Easy for you to say," said Kuwabara. "Just look at who _you're_ dating. Hey!"

He doubled over as Yusuke elbowed him in the gut.

"I think you're forgetting just how unstable he is," said Kurama. "And I'm saying this as his friend. Personally, I don't think they make a very good match."

"Why?" said Shizuru. "Gotta crush on her? On _him_ maybe?"

"Why does everyone assume that?" Kurama shook his head tiredly. "For the record, they're _friends_. I would never feel that way towards a friend."

"So how'd it happen?" said Yusuke through a mouthful of bread roll. "Kurama, you said Hiei came to you on his own. So spill."

"Well…"

* * *

"I'm sorry. She asked you to do what?" Kurama nearly dropped his teacup.

Hiei told him.

"Wha…how…you said _no _right?"

"That was my first instinct," said Hiei, as he leaned against the post in Kurama's back porch. "At first, I wondered if she had some kind of death wish. Then I wondered if she was mentally challenged."

"Why is it that whenever you come across a genuinely good person, you assume that they must have brain damage? She was probably just trying to be nice to you." He drained his tea. "I think."

"Well, whatever her reasons may be…I've decided to go."

Kurama tried to level his expression into something that didn't look like open-mouthed shock.

"Wha…how…_why_?"

Hiei shrugged. "Trust me, I'm not a fan of her company. But from what she told me, Yukina would be there. Along with the buffoon. It would be wrong of me not to take advantage of this, if only for Yukina's sake."

Kurama's frown deepened.

"What about Botan?"

"What about her?"

"As strange as the situation may be, I have no doubt that she asked you out of nothing but kindness. If you're only going for the sake of pushing Kuwabara away from your sister, then you might as well tell her no. It's neither honest or fair."

Hiei gave him a long measuring look.

"Why is this bothering you? It's not as though you spent any more time with her than I have, and it's not like you're actually interested in her anymore than I am. She's practically a stranger to us."

"Be that as it may," said Kurama. "I still have the decency to call her a friend. God knows _you_ need more of those. And for your information, this is not bothering me. I'm merely," he searched for the right word, "concerned."

Oddly enough, Hiei didn't look like he believed him. Just what exactly was he insinuating?

"I'm headed off, " said Hiei. "Just so you know, this conversation doesn't change anything. But if you're talking about honesty, the least you could do is be honest with yourself."

"I don't know what you're talking about." It was true, Kurama didn't.

"Che," said Hiei, "Then maybe you aren't not as smart as I thought you were."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Seriously, what on earth was Hiei talking about? Was he trying to say something about him and Botan?

But the fire demon disappeared without answering.

* * *

"That was pretty much the gist of it," said Kurama after he gave them a slightly edited version of what transpired. It was all very confusing business that left the former fox bandit wondering if he had somehow missed something. He just hoped that whatever it was wasn't going to come back and make him pay for it.

"So he's only going because of Yukina? That's pretty low," said Kuwabara. "I hope he doesn't have the hots for her or anything."

"Yea, that'd be pretty awkward," said Yusuke, as everyone drilled pointed looks in his direction.

"Especially since Botan was the one who invited him," said Kuwabara. "If he's only going to get at another man's girl then he's got another thing coming." He slammed his fist into his palm.

"Now wait a minute," said Keiko, "We don't actually know why Botan asked Hiei to the festival. For all we know, she could just be asking him as a friend."

"Oh right, because as we all know Botan and Hiei are like total BFFs," said Yusuke.

"I don't know," added Keiko. "I still think we're making a fuss over nothing and that we should just leave everyone be."

"Or," said Shizuru, "we can take the more scenic route."

Yusuke leaned in. "What are you getting at?"

"She wants us to go spy on them," said Kurama, "Which, I'm sorry to say, is not only foolish and irresponsible but completely immature."

"I'm in," said Kuwabara.

"Me too," chimed Yusuke and Keiko.

Kurama groaned. "Why can't we do any _normal_ things together anymore?"

* * *

"Botan. Over the years, out of all my dimwitted employees, you are among the few and proud who have somehow managed to aggravate me the least…"

"Gee, thanks," said Botan as she stood warily on the opposite side of Koenma's desk.

He had called her in during the middle of the day, which usually meant that there was another world-ending crisis at hand. She started to get worried, though, when he didn't immediately start spitting details at her.

"…however, I cannot ignore your behavior in light of recent developments."

"Recent developments? Wait, is this about the photo that I showed to Ayame? I told you, she thought that your thumb-sucking was cute!"

"I'm not talking about that," he snarled, "Wait, she did? Anyway, no- what I was referring to was your date this weekend."

"My date?"

"Don't play coy," said Koenma, "I saved the text message Genkai sent." He held up his cell phone as proof.

_Darn it!_ thought Botan. _I should have never gotten her that for Christmas!_

"All I want to know is this," he sucked a chestful of air, "Have you completely lost your mind?! Are you not aware that you are violating the social interaction restrictions I placed on that heinous criminal? Otherwise known as the 'stay as far away from Hiei as you possibly can' rule?"

Botan cowered, "I wasn't aware that that was an actual rule!"

"Well it is! I placed it in the books for a reason. Botan, are you not aware of just how dangerous he is?"

She gulped. "Yes."

"Yet you're still willing to accompany him on this ridiculous excursion which may very well end with you in a body bag?"

"Now wait just a minute, Koenma-sama," said Botan, her back straightening, "Yes, I understand that Hiei is a four-foot nothing killing machine who, ninety-nine percent of the time, hasn't had a shred of remorse for his victims, but I'm surprised that you need to be reminded of why he was put on the team in the first place."

"Yes, because of his relationship with Yukina."

"No, because he shows that he_ can_ care t_hrough _Yukina," corrected Botan, "With all due respect, I think that you might be overreacting. "

_**Might be**__ and __**think so**__ being the key operative words here_, she thought.

"Do you, now?"

"I think he's more kind-hearted than he actually lets on."

_Okay, one little white lie couldn't hurt, right?_

Koenma took in a deep breath as he rearranged some papers on his desk with more care than necessary.

"If that's how you feel, then why don't you go tell him yourself?"

"Fine!"

She did a double-take.

"Eh? What?"

"He's waiting outside my office, though I wouldn't be surprised if he overheard our conversation," Koenma eyed her smugly, "Now, shoo. I'm sure you love birds have _lots_ to talk to about."

For once in her life, Botan wished she had just kept her mouth shut.

* * *

True enough, Hiei Jaganshi was waiting outside Koenma's office, his constant black expression looking more murderous than usual.

Great, what was she supposed to do now?

"Hi," she waved.

He didn't return her greeting, only proceeded to stare at her in a way that made her want to jump out of her skin. She pinched her earlobe in an attempt to fidget with something.

_This is for Yukina. This is for Yukina. This is for Yukina._

"Uh, I'm sorry about that whole…thing in there with Koenma. You probably think I'm an idiot."

Hiei shrugged, "I do, but that has nothing to do with your conversation with that cretin boss of yours."

"Oh…"

He took a step towards her.

"Is there really a rule against standing this close to me?"

She was really proud of the way she ignored her screaming instinct to step back and dash away. Really proud. "Oh that was just Koenma being…insane. Um, is there something that you needed?"

"Yes, actually." Another step towards her. "I came here to tell you that I've thought about your offer to go to that fool outing this weekend. As exciting as that sounds," he deadpanned, "I'll have to pass."

Botan's eyes widened. "Oh. That's…great. I mean…"

This was great…wasn't it? Now, she had an excuse not to go to the festival and she wouldn't have to hurt anyone's feelings.

_But then….why…._

"Just out of curiosity," she began quietly, "Why made you change your mind?"

He turned his back to her, fisting his hands into his coat pockets.

"Because…I think Kurama's in love with you."

She blanched.

_What?!_

* * *

Ah, misinterpretations abound!

So, to cap it all off, Yukina thinks Botan might like Hiei and Hiei thinks Kurama might like Botan (which is totally not confusing at all). On top of that, is the big double-date still on for the weekend? For the sake of sadism, I sure hope so.

Feed the sadism with reviews. Delicious reviews.


	2. No Thank You

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait- I happened to be in Narnia. Here's chapter two, finally!

* * *

**No Good Deed**

Chapter Two: No Thanks

* * *

Shiori Minamino often worried about her oldest son.

He had always been such a quiet boy. One who preferred his own company to the string of admirers that followed him around since kindergarten. But despite his popularity, he didn't have many close friends. In fact, she wasn't even sure he _had_ friends until he told her about Yusuke Urameshi.

She worried about this too, having heard the stories from the other mothers in the neighborhood. They never had anything good to say. However, she trusted her son's instincts. For the first time since she had fallen ill, her son looked at peace. If Urameshi-san was truly the one to thank for this, then she would thank him a thousand times over.

But today she was not thinking of Yusuke Urameshi.

Instead, she was thinking of the strange blue-haired girl who had shown up unannounced at her doorstep. She wasn't from Shuichi's school, but her uniform placed her at Sarasaki High…the same school as the notorious delinquent.

"Um…hello," she said, bowing clumsily. "I'm sorry to bother you, but is Shuichi-san home?"

At first, she thought she was one of Shuichi's ardent "devotees" and was about to dismiss her as such.

"I'm sorry, but Shuichi isn't home right now."

"Mother?"

She turned to see her son coming down the stairs.

"Botan? What are you doing here?"

"Oh." Shiori cast an uncertain glance at both of them. "I didn't know you two knew each other."

"We're old friends," he said, adding a playful wink that sent the girl blushing to the roots of her odd-colored hair.

"I see," Shiori said diplomatically, "I'll go put on some tea."

* * *

"I'm sorry about my mother," said Kurama. "She can be overprotective."

They were sitting on the back porch that overlooked a well-tended garden. Although it was still summer, the beginning of fall had begun to show itself in the crisp breeze that blew through the tall flowers. Given this picturesque backdrop, Shiori's tea was very much welcome. But Botan wasn't admiring the view. Instead, she was staring at the bottom of her teacup as though it had the answer to a question she'd been puzzling over.

"Is something wrong?" Kurama put down his napkin.

_It was now or never._

"Hiei thinks you're in love with me."

"I…what?"

"I know. Crazy right?" She continued. "He came to Rekai the other day and overheard me talking to Koenma. It's a long story. In the end he told me he changed his mind about going to the school festival and then he said… what?"

The soft ripples of laughter coming from the redhead tapered off. Eventually.

"I'm sorry. It's just so _funny."_

Botan scowled.

"Well there goes _my _self-esteem." She scooted back in her chair. "This was a stupid idea. Tell your mom I said thanks for the tea."

"Wait." He grabbed her wrist.

She stiffened and glanced down. Kurama quickly let go as he cleared his throat.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. Please, sit."

She didn't want to. Really, she didn't. But she did anyway because of the way he was staring and darn it, his eyes were just so _green _and not at all hostile like a certain fire-demon-who-shall-not-be-named. So she sat down in the chair, crossing her arms to show that she didn't completely buy him (even though she did- but just a little).

"What I meant to say was, I think this is my fault."

"Eh?"

"Hiei came to my house the other day too. He told me that he accepted your offer. Of course I didn't believe him."

"Gee thanks."

"He told me that he was going only for Yukina's sake, and I told him that it wouldn't be fair to you."

"Kurama…"

"I think somewhere in the middle of that, he gathered that I had feelings for you because I was so defensive. But he was being an ass, and I had to call him out on it."

He looked at her expectantly.

"You shouldn't have said that," she said finally.

"Why not?

"Because…." she began warily. "Look, there's a reason I asked out Hiei and it isn't so much that I'm into him as it is you know…the complete opposite."

"Come again?"

"Yukina made me ask him."

Kurama stared at her. "What?"

"She called me one night," Botan explained. "She said that she was going to the school festival with Kuwabara, but was nervous because of Hiei. Apparently, she had this 'crazy' idea that Hiei was in love with her."

"_What?" _

"Yea, and his whole 'I'm-going-to-stalk-you-from-a-tree thing? Not really helping so much to convince her otherwise."

"I imagine so."

"I ended up giving her some convoluted explanation that his bizarro behavior was because he was trying to watch out for her as a 'friend', without giving away the whole 'by the way, you guys are blood-related' thing. By the end of it, she was so touched that she asked me to ask him to the festival believing that I could somehow 'show him' how to care for others or something ridiculously noble like that."

"And you said yes because…?"

There really was no other way to put it. "She pouted."

"Oh." Kurama wasn't so sure he would have been able to resist himself.

"And it's been situation normal all effed up ever since."

His expression softened. "That must have been hard for you."

She waved him off. "It doesn't matter now. Hiei's not coming."

"You're sure?"

"Yep. He said it right after he dropped the whole, 'Kurama's in love with you' bomb. But we both know how that isn't true."

She looked away, embarrassed again.

"Botan," Kurama began tenuously. "Why don't _I _take you to the festival this weekend?"

It was Botan's turn to stare at him as though he grew a second head.

"Why?"

"Why not? The way I see it, you currently have no one to go with. And since I've never actually been-"

"No seriously."

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yea, I guess," she said. "Just friends," she added emphatically. "But this better not be a pity date or so help me-"

"Not at all," he said. "Unless of course, _you_ don't want to go."

She sputtered. "Of course I'd like to go…as friends."

"As friends," he agreed, re-filling her cup. "Besides, we've never really done anything as friends, have we? At least nothing that doesn't involve the world teetering on the brink of total destruction."

Botan raised her cup. "It's a date then."

Standing unseen from behind the curtain of the kitchen window, Shiori couldn't help but smile.

* * *

It was a surprise to all the Rekai Tantei who arrived at Murasaki Shrine that Hiei decided to come along after all.

And without Botan.

Yusuke was the first to break the proverbial ice. "Hey there, Small, Dark and Dateless. Did Botan finally wise up?"

"Drop it Yusuke," said Keiko while she edged behind him. Although Hiei had partially redeemed himself as her boyfriend's ally, it was still difficult for her to forget how she and the fire demon first met.

"She made a foolish request," Hiei said flatly. "I told her no."

"Ouch." Shizuru winced. So much for her plans on spying on them!

"Then why'd you even bother coming?" said Yusuke, not at all pleased that Hiei had 'dumped' Botan so unceremoniously. And he was also willing to bet that Hiei didn't let her down all too gently either.

"Yukina is here." He gestured towards a stand where they were giving away goldfish prizes. "And she's with the Idiot."

Sure enough, Kuwabara was standing next to Yukina, aiming a baseball at a stack of empty fishbowls.

"So you're doing the Big Brother thing," said Shizuru. "I get it."

"Anyone see Kurama?" Keiko asked suddenly. The sooner their group got together, the sooner the group could split up and she wouldn't have to suffer Hiei's perpetual death glare.

"Yea, where is that sneaky red-head?" Yusuke peered off into the distance, shading his eyes with his hand.

"Ginger at two o'clock," said Shizuru as she spotted a smartly dressed Kurama heading towards them. "It looks like he brought some fans."

Kurama dashed passed a gaggle of squealing girls, losing them at the intersection before jogging up the old stone steps of the shrine.

"Running away from them, more like," said Hiei disdainfully.

"Sorry I'm late," he panted. "Traffic."

"You look snazzy," said Shizuru, eyeing his dashing black jacket and blue dress shirt underneath. Even his dark khakis and Italian leather shoes said, "dressed-to-kill." He looked like he was ready to go out to some fancy dinner, not hang out with a bunch of high school friends. "Got a hot date?"

"Ah, not exactly," he said, which Hiei found slightly suspicious.

"Hey, hot chick at ten o'clock." Yusuke whistled.

"Yusuke!"

"Kidding babe, kidding."

"You have to admit though," Shizuru said judiciously, "She is pretty hot."

Keiko narrowed her eyes at the offending girl. "Uh…guys? I think that's Botan."

"Nah," said Yusuke, taking a closer look. "Can't be."

Shizuru sidestepped him. "I dunno, Yusuke. How many girls do we know have naturally blue hair?"

It turned out Keiko was right. The pretty girl making her way through the steadily growing crowd was indeed the ferry girl they all knew and loved, as well as rescued on occasion.

She wore her hair down in loose curls. Something that her coworker, Ayame had suggested despite Botan's apprehensions that she would end up looking like Raggedy Anne. Ayame had ended up doing Botan's hair herself and pinned it to one side with a white lily pin.

She even lent her one of her white silk kimonos to match and had topped off her masterpiece with a light sprinkling of make-up. The older ferry girl had congratulated herself on a job well done and insisted that if Botan didn't come home with at least one phone number, then she would take on Botan's duties for a week. Despite this, Botan only felt more nervous.

Super nervous.

"Hi guys," she said. Her eyes cut to Hiei whose expression seemed more carefully guarded than usual. "Hello, Hiei."

"Onna," he returned coolly.

"Wow Botan," said Shizuru. "Are you here on a hot date too?"

"Umm…"

"She's _my _date, actually," said Kurama, as though stating that the sky was blue or sometimes people died. At that moment, Botan wished she did.

Yusuke whistled. "Gotta say Botan, Fox Boy here is a definite trade-up from you-know-wh-ow!"

Hiei smacked the backside of his head.

"We're just going as friends," said Botan, blushing hotly. "I was suddenly free." Again, she avoided looking in Hiei's general direction.

"I think it's cute," said Keiko.

"Gag me," Shizuru and Yusuke chimed.

"Hey Yusuke," said Keiko, wanting to break the thickening tension. "Wanna go try some cotton candy?"

"Huh? Oh sure." They started off for the booths. "Catch you losers later."

"Hang on, I'll come with!" said Shizuru, chasing after them.

Thus, Kurama, Hiei and Botan were left to themselves. For a while, no one said anything.

"I'll be around," said Hiei. With that, he headed off towards the game booths. Yukina-scouting, most likely.

Botan turned to the sound of Kurama clearing his throat. He held out his arm,

"Shall we?"

She smiled and shyly looped her arm around his.

Hiei watched them from afar- their awkward physical exchange held in the scope of his sharp gaze, his expression still betraying nothing. Not even the gods could discern what Hiei could have been thinking at that moment, except to say that he was thinking very deeply, as if mulling over a poor decision.

* * *

Like Kurama, Botan had never been to a school festival.

It certainly wasn't as exciting as say, a demon tournament, but it was a nice change of pace- especially with Kurama. At first Botan wasn't sure that she would be able to relax in his admittedly very gorgeous company. Though she soon realized that he was actually very easy to be around.

For starters, he wasn't as distant as she pegged him to be. With the exception of Yusuke, Kurama normally closed himself off to everyone around him. There was also Hiei. Who, at this moment, seemed perfectly content in trailing Yukina and Kuwabara like a certified stalker. A stalker who seemed more malcontent than usual amidst a crowd of happy festival-goers.

"I think he's actually having a good time," said Kurama, surprising Botan. Did he just have that good of an intuition or were her thoughts written all over her face as usual?

"You probably can't tell," said Kurama as they passed by a booth that was selling paper kites, "He can be difficult to read, but it's pretty obvious that he's enjoying himself."

Hiei's black frown told Botan otherwise. She shook her head.

"Oh Kurama! Kurama-san!"

Both looked up to see a tall girl in a deep green kimono run towards them. Kurama recognized her as one of the girls who had swarmed him at the intersection- she nearly ripped off a piece of his hair. It also wouldn't be the first time since she also happened to be one of his classmates. What was her name? Rei? Risa?

"Hi there. I'm Riho." She extended an overly manicured hand towards Botan, though she didn't even glance in Botan's direction. Riho's gaze remained fixed on Kurama like a shark that scented fresh blood.

With this image in mind, Botan warily accepted the strange girl's gesture. "Hello. I'm-"

"That's nice," said Riho, tossing her long, dark braid over her shoulder (and whacking Botan's nose in the process). "So Kurama," Riho continued, pinching the large sunflower tucked above her ear, "Me and some of the other girls were wondering if you would like to come join us? You know, in more_ fitting_ company." Her plastic grin grew wider.

Botan was beyond livid. But before she could give a piece of her mind, she squeaked as Kurama slipped a hand around her waist.

"I'm sorry Riho. I couldn't imagine being in more fitting company than my girlfriend's."

Justice was served when the shock of that statement nearly drained the blood out of Riho's face.

"Girlfriend? Does it even go to our school?" Apparently, this situation was so far out of her concept of reality that Riho continued to refer to Botan as though she were an inanimate object.

Kurama only smiled. "Oh we've been dating for a long time. Haven't we, Botan-chan?"

Botan returned his smile hesitantly. "Um, yea." Even though she knew what he was saying was a lie, she couldn't quite stop her belly from doing a flip-flop when he called her "Botan-chan."

"She lives out of town," Kurama continued, "But we've been dating in secret for a long time because her father doesn't approve. Now that she's transferred schools and moved out on her own, things have been easier."

Botan resisted the urge to laugh since Riho looked like she was on the verge of a seizure- her right eye was twitching horribly.

"I see," said Riho, her posture bone-rigid. "It was…very nice to meet you then. See you around, Kurama."

"I can't believe you did that," exclaimed Botan as Riho walked off angrily towards her friends. "I don't think I've ever seen you be so…_sneaky_."

"Trust me, I was very good at it," he said.

Before she could say anything else, he grabbed her hand and led her towards the booth with paper kites.

"C'mon. We came to have fun right?"

She couldn't be more obliged. And for the rest of the evening, she did.

With the exception of one small thing.

* * *

"Get out of my way!"

Both Kurama and Botan turned their heads to see what the commotion was. They had just come from the charm booth when they saw Riho standing over some poor girl who had the misfortune to cross her path. Botan's eyes widened.

"Yukina!"

* * *

"I'm…I'm sorry," said Yukina. "I didn't mean to…"

"You idiot! Look at what you did!" Riho wiped her hands over her obi, which was completely soaked through. "Do you know how much this costs? You can't even BUY this material locally!"

"Please…my poor fish."

It hadn't been too long ago when Kuwabara decided to run ahead and find Shizuru. But when he didn't come back, Yukina decided to look for him herself. She was carrying Kichiro, a small orange and white koi that Kuwabara had won for her earlier in that strange contest where you threw a ball at a pyramid of empty glasses. No one had ever given her a present before, she told him. It was a shame that she couldn't give him anything in return.

"That's ok," he said. "Just being around you…that's enough for me." He looked away. "Sorry. That was a stupid."

"No," she said. "That was…very kind. Thank you, Kuwabara."

And now poor Kichiro was flopping around on the pavement. If she didn't get him back in his bowl soon…

"Well, what do we have here," said Riho, following Yukina's line of sight. "Aw, poor thing." Her brought the toe of her sandal inches above it.

"Don't!"

"I don't know," said Riho. "I'm so clumsy. Who knows what I would…"

"Hey!"

Botan didn't know what had got into her. In retrospect, she should have just waited for Kurama. Instead she ran ahead of him and (without thinking) pushed Riho aside so that she toppled straight into a fake pond that was set up for the festival.

"Bitch!" Riho screamed. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Botan ignored her. She crouched down to scoop Yukina's fish into her palm and placed it into what little water was left in his bowl. She grabbed Yukina's hand.

"You're not hurt are you?"

"I'm alright," said Yukina, wearing an expression of relief.

"Hey I'm talking to you!"

"Maybe you should calm down, Riho," said one of her posse.

"Yea," said another. "Isn't that Kurama's girlfriend?"

"I don't care who she is," Riho spat. "Nobody disrespects me like that."

"You have a very warped sense of what respect is, I'm afraid."

Everyone looked up to see that Kurama had arrived with Hiei in tow. Botan didn't think it would take a genius to know that Hiei was feeling nothing short of murderous. The dark vibes he was giving off were so strong that even Botan was starting to get chills. If Riho didn't get out of here soon, she was sure there'd be a few bloodstains…and nothing else.

"Touch Yukina again," began Hiei, "and you won't even live long enough to regret it."

He was completely serious.

Riho blanched "I…sorry…I."

"I guess even predators have a sense of self-preservation," Kurama said pointedly.

"Alright I…I'm going," said Riho, her bottom lip trembling. "We're going," she said more emphatically to her friends. And with that, they retreated into the night. And even though it was totally Riho's fault, Botan couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.

She shook her head and helped Yukina onto her feet.

"I'm glad the both of you are alright," said Kurama.

"Us too," said Yukina. "That human girl was very scary."

Hiei said nothing. He looked upset, more so than usual. The dull redness of his eyes was burning bright crimson.

_He must have been really worried…_

"I'm sorry," said Botan. Hiei's gaze flitted to her own and it took all her willpower to not jump back like a scared rabbit. She didn't even know why she was apologizing!

Hiei's frown deepened.

_Great,_ she thought, _I'm probably just making him angrier_. _Better get out of here before he turns green and starts stomping on people!_

Then, "No. I'm sorry."

Although she knew that he was talking about his sister, Botan couldn't help but feel that he was saying sorry for another reason. Did she enter Bizarro World again? Even Kurama was looking at his friend with mild surprise.

"I should have been the one to protect Yukina," said Hiei. "But I was too preoccupied with that fool human to notice. I have failed."

Yukina gave him a questioning look.

Botan responded by putting up a placating hand. "Hey, it's no big deal. It happens." _Gosh, this was so uncomfortable!_

"Thank you Botan," said Yukina. "And you too, Hiei." Although her words were sincere, Botan could tell that Hiei's dramatic declaration was also making Yukina uneasy. "I should go look for Kuwabara-kun."

"We better get going too," said Kurama as the ice maiden hurried off.

"I will too," said Hiei. "Coming here was a disaster. As I knew it would be."

_Ditto_, thought Botan. _Although admittedly, it wasn't a complete and total loss. _She looked sideways at Kurama.

"Cheer up old friend," said the youko. "You had the best intentions."

He "hmphed" as if say, 'well a load of good those did' and disappeared in a literal flash.

Botan shook her head. _I guess there are no walks of shame when you had the speed of a demon… _

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

Kurama shrugged. "I'm not so sure."

"I thought you knew Hiei better than anyone."

He turned to face her. His green eyes set in a concerned way that made Botan feel a lump in her throat.

"The truth is, no one really knows."

* * *

**A/N:** It looks like a bit of a love triangle might be emerging. Find out how Botan and Hiei reconcile in the aftermath of the festival in **No Good Deed Chapter 3: Tokens of Affection.**


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